His Redemption
by NIchiki
Summary: Such a contradiction she was. All soft feminine beauty but underneath was a fire bubbling just beneath the surface (On Hold)
1. Chapter 1

His Redemption

ZerLu Pairing

Rated M

Disclaimer: Nope, still own nothing of Fairy Tail

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Dark eyes full of anguish and weariness surveyed the land from atop a cliff, searching for but never truly finding his guiding light, his salvation, the main reason to continue this feeble so called existence. His gaze floated towards the stand of trees the Fire Dragon Slayer disappeared into with great sadness, tears trailed down his face once more. He'd hoped that Natsu would've been ready by now, ready to end his miserable existence. But it was not to be, at least not yet. It was clear the young Dragon Slayer had much growing up to do before he could even come close to what was needed to accomplish such a task.

The endless centuries of wandering, waiting, seeing many empires rise and fall, witnessing tragedies befalling the human race took its toll and he was exhausted. With each new turn of the century came new ways to hurt each other, new ways to inflict pain and suffering and he was no longer able to turn a blind eye to it all. The burden of seeing such agonizing suffering weighed heavily upon his soul and he couldn't help but feel each and every torment as his own. He'd decided long ago to not let the darkness rule his actions and thoughts, no more would he add to the vileness of the world nor add to the wickedness surrounding him. Instead he would step back from humanity and let the world pass him by until the day he could truly be put to rest. Sleep, the continuous dream beckoned to him, called to him like a siren in the distance, always near but just out of reach.

He exhaled a deep sigh, full of sorrow and regret. Would he never see that one eternal rest he so longer for? Would his sins continue to weigh down heavily upon him until he felt crushed by the guilt? To be continuously on the move, never being able to stay in one place wore on his aching body. But he had no choice. As long as his power threatened everything and everyone around him, no place was safe. No one was safe.

When he'd heard of Tenrou Island it seemed to be an ideal place for isolation, to keep others safe from the destructive monster threatening to get out with every second. He should've known it sounded too good to be true, that they would find him even in this remote place.

Why must they continue to pursue him, even spouting some nonsense about waking him from his slumber. He was more awake then he'd ever been. He had no clue where that nonsense came from, who was spreading such rumors, but let them believe what they will, it didn't matter to him one way or the other. They all wanted the same thing, control of his power but he would never be allowed to be used in such a way. The ignorant refuse of the world would never have access to his power, no instead they would get what they deserved, flung into oblivion with the rest of the vileness of this world.

_'Nothing to do about it now, not with Acnologia on the way. I just hope Natsu is strong enough to withstand his rage.'_

His eyes turned to the turbulent skies, the winds picking up signaling a huge force was approaching.

_'If he is indeed the one, then I must put my faith in him, for all of this was preordained by fate and no one can escape its grasp no matter how hard they try.'_

Starting to turn and make his way off the island he froze, his eyes taking in a golden light in the far off distance. Squinting he just managed to see the golden light was the sun glinting off a blonde head of hair, blowing in the breeze. He couldn't pinpoint it exactly but somehow he felt like he had to stay there, had to find out who this beacon of light was. Just standing there watching this figure calmed his thoughts and a foreign feeling bloomed within his chest.

Silently he willed the figure to turn, his muscles tensing from wanting to jump down there and approach them. Just then he spotted Natsu coming from the underbrush and draw the figures attention. His breath caught in his throat as the blonde turned to regard the Dragon Slayer and he could see their profile, and it was if the darkness dragging him down all these long years lifted, just a tiny bit.

This woman, no this golden angel made things in his chest tighten to such a degree that he almost couldn't breath. He wondered who this creature was as she stood there, clothes in tatters berating Natsu with such a fire in her eyes. Such a contradiction she was. All soft feminine beauty but underneath was a fire bubbling just beneath the surface and even across this distance he could feel the deep magic wells brimming with energy within her petite body.

Who was she?

What was she to the Dragon Slayer?

A lover perhaps?

Their body language and interactions spoke of great familiarity and he couldn't help but frown at such thoughts and was startled at such a reaction. Why did it bother him if they were close? She was nothing to him, just another human amongst the sea of millions and yet even as he thought this he felt the lie leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

Something... something about her intrigued and mystified him all at once. He felt an immense yearning to get to know her, to find out about her life, her past… everything. It was odd to be so overwhelmed by such feelings when he knew nothing about her and yet it felt right, like he was supposed to feel this way. But the thought unsettled him as much as it excited him.

His thoughts abruptly broke off as a tremendous roar split the sky with its fury and he could make out the black being bearing down upon the island signaling his time was up. In a brief moment of thought he tore off a piece of his psyche and attached it to hers, determined to keep an eye on the wonder he only briefly found. If she should survive this encounter, then she was someone to watch and he had no intention of disregarding the conflicting feelings warring within his mind.

Something was pushing him towards her and whatever it was he knew he couldn't just ignore it. Everything happens for a reason and even though he was still wary of the reasons he couldn't help but feel sad that he had to leave so soon after finding this being. With one last look at the golden angel, who was currently staring at the beast in the sky with fear and determination he turned to go. This was no longer where he needed to be. No, he was needed elsewhere at the moment to mete out judgment on one who had accumulated immense sins upon his soul. A fleeting thought had him wondering if he'd ever see her again, but he knew fate wouldn't have shown her to him only to take her away again, right?

Dark eyes flared red as he spotted the airship that was his target. Whatever the reasons he would find her again, whether in this life or the next.

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(¯`¥´¯`·.¸.:¨NIchiki ¨:.¸.·´¯`¥´¯)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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Lucy's POV

Lucy groaned and rotated her shoulders, wincing as the pain intensified and shot through her battered body. She couldn't believe she was even still alive or in one piece for that matter. Who would've thought she could or would be used as a fighting puppet and lived to tell the tale. She narrowed her eyes on the head of pink hair standing beside her, wishing her arms didn't feel like bags of lead were hanging from her wrists or she'd brand him a good one.

"Aw come on Luce, don't look at me like that. We won! Be happy!" He shouted slapping her back, wrenching a loud shriek from her lips making him jump back out of her kicking range in fear.

"Dammit Natsu, I am still sore from the beating that tub of lard gave me, not to mention being thrown around like a rag doll when you decided to turn me into your stand in." She groaned again, before fixing him with a stare that would've sent everyone else running by now. "And the next time you have the smart idea of turning me into a human fireball remember I know your weakness." He gulped and stepped back and she smirked evilly.

"I'll have you bound, gagged, tossed onto a train and stuffed into the luggage compartment where no one will hear you as you ride all over the countryside, nonstop."

He threw his hands up in surrender." Alright alright, no human fireball. But you've gotta admit that was pretty damn awesome." He grinned as she slumped.

There was just no getting through his thick head sometimes and she was short on patience at the moment, so she let go of the subject, vowing to go back over it after all of this was sorted out.

Natsu was busy rehashing the battle with Happy as she surveyed her surroundings, wondering what other surprises were in store for them that day. A tingling feeling swept up the back of her neck and she turned wondering who was watching her, hoping it wasn't another enemy because they were both wiped out. Her brown eyes scanned the horizon hesitantly, hoping it was just her imagination, but just as she chalked it up to nothing she froze, spotting a figure high up on a cliff.

Squinting, she tilted her head and studied the figure. The billowing purple and black robes dubbed him not of Fairy Tail, but neither did she feel a malevolent presence with him either. Instead she was shocked to feel immense sadness radiating from his form. She took a few steps closer, trying to see his face, but he had it turned slightly looking up into the sky with a forlorn expression on his face. Lucy gasped softly as the sunlight shone on the trail of tears cascading down his face and wondered who this person was and what could be making him so sad.

_Who was he?_

_What was he doing here on Tenrou?_

_Did he come with Grimoire Hearts and if so did he mean them harm, or was he perhaps someone else?_

So many questions pulled at her mind, but also a strange fascination tugged at her. Lucy mostly chalked that up to just her inquisitive mind, the mind of a novelist who questions the world around them. A curiosity that had always been there since she was a small child, consequently getting her into more sticky situations then she cared to mention. But this strange feeling of figuring out who this stranger was bombarded her mind and caught her off guard.

It was unsettling and odd to be so captivated by a complete stranger and yet it felt like she was supposed to find out, like she needed to, but why?

She didn't feel the danger she felt with Grimorie Hearts, instead it was more of a slight warning that he could be dangerous, but it was not his intention. Almost as if he didn't have a choice in the matter, like he had a dark beast caged within his body. But the sorrow that radiated from him pulled at her heart. The tears still tracked down his cheeks spoke not of great evil, but of grief, anguish, and his stance suggested a tiredness that came with age. But he looked hardly older then herself, so how could she feel such things from him. She prided herself at reading other people, to be able to understand what kind of person they were by their actions, movements and speech, but he didn't have to say anything at all. His whole body spoke for him and she could tell that what he had to say would be a tale for the ages. She wished she could just go up to him and ask him his name, where he'd come from, what he's seen and experienced, but something warned her away. He was dangerous, a red flag waving in the air and yet she knew he didn't want to hurt anybody, she didn't know how she knew this but she felt it, deep within her soul.

Before she could delve any deeper into her thoughts an angry roar reverberated through the sky and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. With a shout Natsu, Happy and Lucy all turned their gazes to the skies, spotting a humongous black dragon approaching the island.

"Oh Mavis," Lucy gasped into her hand clutching onto Natsu's vest.

"It's a dragon." He whispered, his eyes going wide, an excited feeling bubbling into his voice at seeing a dragon after such a long time.

"I don't think this one's friendly, Natsu." Lucy replied, her whole body shuddering as the dragon's aura enveloped the area.

Lucy's heart thundered in her throat as she felt her knees quake under such evilness. The darkness in its gaze froze her very soul and it almost felt like she would be swallowed up by its immense power.

"Natsu, we've gotta get back to base camp and regroup with the others." She urged him, pulling his vest desperately trying to break him from his daze.

Happy whimpered nearby and that seemed to snap him out of his stupor, looking at his two closest friends with a serious nod.

"You're right. Maybe the other dragon slayers will know something about him."

Lucy shuddered as the large mass came closer and she knew it would be a fight for their lives and perhaps their very own souls. Before they turned to go Lucy jumped as a piercing pain flared in her head, her hands flew up to grip her head with a gasp. The abrupt motion startled Natsu and he turned to her with a worried look, his gaze raking her figure for injuries as he clutched her shoulders.

"Luce?! What's wrong? Are you hurt?!"

But just as fast as it had come the pain faded away like it had never been there in the first place. She shook her head and waved his hands off, Happy floating nearby whimpered again, his lower lip trembling at seeing her in distress.

"I-I'm ok. I don't know what that was but its gone now." Her eyes scanned the cliff where the stranger had been perched but she frowned seeing he had vanished.

"We've gotta go Luce." Natsu's voice interrupted her thoughts, swinging her gaze back to his serious face. "We have to get back to the others, I can't fight this thing on my own." He turned to face the sky again before he grabbed her hand and set off on a run.

She briefly glanced back at the cliff, her mind a thousand miles away as she wondered if she'd ever see that mysterious man again and why did it matter if she did or not. She couldn't figure out why on earth she cared when she knew nothing about him except his appearance, but still a nagging feeling deep within her soul tickled at her senses. Something told her she would see him again and maybe, just maybe she would find out who he was and just why he was so fascinating to her.

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(¯`¥´¯`·.¸.:¨(*°∀°)=3 ¨:.¸.·´¯`¥´¯)

Sorry for the absence! Life has a way of not only shoving you down and spitting in your corn flakes but also stealing your pickles (an offense punishable by death in my book) So in face of all that lovely crapola my muse has decided to be a moody booty and only pops out when she damn well wants to. So while life gets back to normal (as normal as it can be anyways) and I'm finally able to get my damn jar of pickles back have a bit of patience while I coax that moody muse off her butt.

`·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· NIchiki `·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.·


End file.
